Pentagon Tells Employees Not To Stream March Madness Because They’re Wasting Military Resources

On the first Thursday and Friday of the NCAA tournament, basketball is televised nonstop during the workday and into prime time. Consequently, it’s one of the few sporting events that forces employers to worry that their workers are spending company time watching instead of working.

The Pentagon is no different. Ok, it’s a little different. But rather than issue a straightforward ban on March Madness streaming, the government’s military headquarters chose to guilt employees into abstaining, suggesting that doing so puts military lives at risk.

Here’s the memo, obtained by CBS News, that circulated through the building in anticipation of the annual sporting event:

CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED

JSP Notice: March Madness Video Streaming and Network Consumption

SUMMARY: March Madness is officially upon us. Your JSP support team acknowledges and appreciates that college basketball fans within the DoD are excited to cheer on their favorite teams, update brackets, and otherwise obsess over the Big Dance. In preparation for the event, JSP engineers will closely monitor bandwidth consumption and server availability to handle additional network strain as best as they can. However, it is important to remember that we share a single network and visiting non-mission essential websites degrades network performance for everyone.

Please keep in mind; if you’re streaming video to watch your favorite player shooting free throws, you’re consuming network resources that could be served to support the Warfighter.

If you experience any questions or concerns, please contact the JSP Service Desk for assistance.

Sincerely,

Joint Service Provider (JSP)

Communications

It’s hardly believable that the Pentagon has bandwith issues considering how much America dedicates to military spending. Or that without these bandwith issues the Pentagon would be fine with you streaming cheering on Manhattan against Gonzaga at your desk.